Post-storm mail service finds new ways to deliver

Nov. 3, 2012

Written by

Kristi Funderburk

@kfunder

The following postal locations will be open on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow customers that are not able to receive mail delivery the opportunity to pick-up mail. No retail services will be available that day. Tuckerton Post Office, 139 E. Main St, for customers in Beach Haven, Harvey Cedars, Ship Bottom, and Long Beach Island. Beachwood Post Office, 74 Locker St., for customers in Mantoloking, Normandy Beach, Lavallette, Seaside Heights, and Seaside Park. Rumson Post Office, 6 Hunt St., for customers in Highlands. Manahawkin Post Office, 525 E. Bay Avenue, for customers in Barnegat Light. Point Pleasant, 2229 Bridge Avenue, for customers in Point Pleasant Beach. For more information, call 1-800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777) or visit www.usps.com.

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OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Neither rain nor snow nor hurricane can keep the postal service away, but it can make the job a little tougher to navigate.

Wanda Roberts, a postal worker with the Asbury Park Post Office for 14 years, said she had to miss a few houses on her 532-stop route in Ocean Township earlier this week because of a transformer that exploded and posed fire risks.

Storms like Sandy may create detours, barriers and obstacles, but never hurts Roberts’ impression of the job.

“It makes me happy to deliver the mail to customers who are waiting for the mail,” Roberts, 49, said. “It makes them feel like everything is coming back to civilization because we’re out delivering the mail.”

The U.S. Postal Service had to make several adjustments after Hurricane Sandy left many of its post offices and delivery routes underwater and, in some cases, impossible to reach, said Ray Daiutolo, U.S. Postal Service regional spokesman. For example, some mainland post offices will hold mail for towns with damaged or inaccessible post offices.

The postal service is used to changing its plans when disasters strike, Daiutolo said, though he added the impact of this storm was much larger than the weather events they more commonly see, like blizzards. That meant careful planning and a need to be flexible, he said.

“We kind of adapt,” he said. “I think we have a great history of being able to handle catastrophes as they come along.”

The Asbury Park Post Office lost power in the storm and only got a generator running on Thursday. Postmaster John Ferraro had the office open all but Tuesday so families could get their mail, buy stamps and pick up packages.

The post office on Bangs Avenue has 18,189 delivery locations between the city and other nearby towns it covers like Ocean Township and Wanamass, Ferraro said. The postal workers there made all but 617 deliveries Wednesday due to downed trees and flooding, and missed only 60 Thursday, he said.

Jenna DiDario, 38, a resident of the Wayside section of Ocean Township, appreciated that Roberts’ white box truck came down her street despite the storm’s aftermath.

“With no power and no heat, we’re certainly very grateful to be getting our mail,” she said.